The Best Pancakes in the World

These were the best pancakes in the world...... okay, maybe not the world since clearly I have not had every pancake in the world. But none the less they were so, so, so good! They are not low fat or healthy at all but I didn't really care while I was eating them. Maybe they can be special occasion pancakes or birthday pancakes. I found the recipe on mykitchencafe.blogspot.com. There are a lot of good recipes there. So go and have some pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.

2 c. flour
2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 egg yolks
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Just mix everything together. You don't need to stir it too much. It's okay if there are still some lumps in it. Cook them like you cook pancakes. Put butter and syrup on them and then eat way too many.

Creme Filled Cupcakes

That's right........ more treats! I found this recipe in a magazine but I don't remember which one. These look just like the ones you get at the store but they are way better. As you can see from the picture they are Mason approved.

2 c. flour
1 c. cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs

Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine all of the dry ingredients together. Add about half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and then add half of the buttermilk. Repeat this with the remaining flour and milk. Pour into muffin tins. It's easier if you use the little muffin papers. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Don't overcook! Let cool and then fill with creme filling.

Filling:
4 Tbsp. butter
2c. powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add milk until it's spreadable but still pretty thick. To fill the cupcakes I just put the filling in one of those cake decorating bags with a regular round tip. Squish the tip down into the middle of the cupcake and squeeze. Spread some glaze over the top and then you're done.

Glaze:
1/2 c. cream
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat the cream until it is simmering. Pour over the chocolate chips and add the corn syrup. Stir until smooth.

Out of Control Christmas Baking

I think there is something wrong with me.......... I want to make stuff (as in food/treats) all of the time. I had all of these cookie recipes that I wanted to try so instead of just making one a week this month like a normal person, I made them all in one day. I thought that if I got it all out of my system and let myself eat cookies until I was so sick of them that I didn't care if I ever ate another cookie again that I could be done for this month. December is a horrible month to be trying to lose weight......anyways, my plan didn't work. I definitely was sick of sugar on Saturday night but when I got up in the morning I thought, "Hey, cookies!" and then I ate some more. Nice. But now I'm going to be good.....or at least I'm going to try real hard. I'm putting all of these recipes on here so that you to can eat cookies until you are sick. Happy Christmas baking!

Ginger Spice Cookies

This is another recipe that I got from ourbestbites.com. and they said they got the recipe from Paula Dean (you know, hey ya'll). Again I will say that they have really good recipes. Normally I don't really want to bother with a cookie that doesn't involve chocolate but these were really, really good. Even my kids liked them. I thought for sure they would say they were "too spicey" but they didn't.

3/4 c. butter flavored Crisco (I didn't have this so I used 1/4 c. butter and 1/2 c. regular shortening)
1 c. sugar
1 large egg
1/4 c. molasses
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Bake until just set around the edges and the tops get crackly.

Scotcheroos

These are delicious! I got the recipe from Sam's mom. They are a Kimball family favorite. At every family reunion everyone wants to know when the scotcheroos are going to show up.

1 c. sugar
1 c. light karo syrup
1 c. peanut butter
6 c. rice krispies
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips

Heat sugar and karo syrup until sugar is dissolved but don't boil. Remove from heat and mix in peanut butter until melted. Stir in rice krispies and press into 9x13 pan. Melt the butterscotch and chocolate chips together and spread on top of the stuff in the pan. Let them sit until the chocolate sets up........... or if you can't wait you can put them in the fridge for a little while.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

These were Sam's favorite. They are really good! I got this recipe from ourbestbites.com. They have so many good recipes.
1 c. butter flavored Crisco (I didn't have this so I used 1/4 c. butter and 3/4 c. regular shortening and I thought they turned out fine)
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Filling:
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. butter
4 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
5-6 Tbsp. milk

Cream shortening, peanut butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time. Add dry ingredients and mix to combine. The dough will be soft. Roll the dough into small balls and roll in sugar. Squish the dough in a criss cross pattern with a fork. Place on baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes. You want them to be really soft so don't over bake them. Let cool and then put filling in the middle. For the filling: Cream peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Add the milk a little at a time. You want the filling to be on the thick side.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

These were really good. I got the recipe from a Christmas cookie magazine but I don't remember which one........so sorry to whoever invented this recipe.
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp.cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 Tbsp. red food coloring (I only had one Tbsp. and the cookies were still plenty red)

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, food coloring and buttermilk. Add all dry ingredients and mix until combined. Drop by teaspoon full onto greased baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes at 375 degrees. Let cool. Frost one cookie with filling and then top with another cookie. Now eat some.

Peppermint Cream Cheese Filling
6 oz. cream cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
3 c. powdered sugar
Milk, to make spreading consistancy

Beat cream cheese, butter and peppermint extract. Add powdered sugar and milk until it is how you like it.

Christine's Awesome Crescent Rolls

I'm not sure where Christine got this recipe, but I'm calling it Christine's because she's the queen of delicious rolls and she passed this beauty on to me. I like to consider myself a pretty accomplished baker, I've been baking for as long as I can remember and enjoying it. However, I do realize that sometimes I get over-confident in my baking skills and get sloppy with the whole process. This happens most often when I'm making homemade bread or rolls. I think it is because it is such a long process of mixing, bubbling, kneading, resting, kneading, rising, shaping, rising, baking...too many -ings.

So for Thanksgiving this year I decided to take on these crescent rolls and I made a commitment to focus on the task at hand. And the results...

Delicious!!!!

Here's the recipe:
Crescent Rolls
1 cup warm water
5 1/2 tsp yeast
3/4 cup warm milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp salt
6 cup flour
1 stick cold, unsalted butter

Mix the warm water and yeast and let it sit for 2-3 minutes (it should start to get bubbly). Mix in the milk, butter, sugar, salt and about 4 cups of the flour. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes adding more flour as needed (I used a little less than 6 cups total when I made it). Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover lightly and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour. Punch it down. Put the dough onto the counter and let it rest for 10 minutes, covered lightly with a towel. Roll the dough out into a large circle. Using a cheese grater, grate the cold butter over the circle of dough. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into pizza-like slices and roll into crescent rolls (wide side first). Place in a cookie sheet with edges and cover and let rise for another 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375. Put rolls in oven after rising and then decrease the oven temperature to 350. The recipe said to cook for 25 minutes, but for me they were done after 15 minutes (you always have to check early). Once out of the oven, rub with butter (yes, more butter!)

The recipe did not call for unsalted butter but I thought they were a tad on the salty side so I think unsalted would help. Also, the original recipe called for grating 2 sticks of butter over the dough, but Christine and I both agree that one stick is enough and they are buttery and delicious. Enjoy!

Dough Enhancer....... Steroids for Bread

I think this stuff really makes a difference when you make bread. It's supposed to help the dough rise better and give the bread a better texture. I couldn't find it at any stores around where I live so I looked it up online and you can make it yourself. I didn't have any lecithin or ascorbic acid but I got the rest of the ingredients at Wal Mart. So try it out next time you make bread. You can add 1 Tbsp. when you make white bread and 2-3 Tbsp. with wheat bread. I think it helps anyways...... maybe it's all in my head. Kind of how I can't swallow pills...... because it's all in my head.

1 c. wheat gluten
2 Tbsp. lecithin
1 tsp. ascorbic acid
2 Tbsp. pectin
2 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin
1/2 c. nonfat dry milk
1 tsp. ginger

Mix all together and store in a covered container

Amish White Bread

This is a really good bread recipe. It is kind of sweet....... but that's how we like it. I found it on Allrecipes.
2 c. warm water
2/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. oil
6-7 c. bread flour
1 Tbsp. dough enhancer

Dissolve sugar in the warm water. Add yeast and let sit until foamy.... is that a word?
Mix in the salt and oil. Add flour and knead until dough is smooth and not sticky. If using a mixer it will not be sticking to the sides of the bowl at all. Let rise about 1 hour. Punch dough down and knead for a few minutes. Shape into 2 loaves. Let rise again for about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Brush tops with butter right out of the oven. Yummy!